Award Categories
We welcome entries from across the rail industry, its supply chain and its stakeholders. Under each category heading, further detail is provided on who should enter. Generally, entries should be submitted by the client, operator or main contractor/designer (where relevant); but every entry should list all the major parties involved.
Entrants should consider carefully the most relevant category for their entry, although the judges have discretion to reallocate to a different category. Duplicate or broadly similar entries should not be made to more than one category, as this will not increase the chance of an award.
Accessibility Achievement of the Year (NEW FOR 2025)
Providing a fully accessible railway is a key objective for the industry. Making the railway more accessible for everyone will ensure a safer, more reliable, higher capacity and attractive service for passengers as well as staff.
Accessibility encompasses many aspects including people who use wheelchairs or mobility scooters but also includes partially sighted and partially deaf people, neurodivergent people, and older otherwise vulnerable or disabled people. Accessibility improvements also bring benefits for families with young children and people travelling with luggage or bicycles.
Barriers to disabled people using trains independently can make travel uncomfortable, undignified, isolating and indeed unsafe at a time when it is imperative the railway serves everyone, not least when we are trying to attract more people to use rail.
This award will celebrate those initiatives which reduce those barriers and provide a better railway for all passengers and staff. The panel will be looking for entries that have clear aims to improve accessibility, address barriers to independent rail travel and demonstrate a determination to make the railway more accessible for everyone.
Who should enter?
Entries may come from any team, company or organisation involved in the railway industry, including the wider supply chain, but all entries should show a tangible achievement in improving accessibility on the rail network. Merely implementing any new legislative or other requirement will not score highly, unless the entry demonstrates a particularly innovative way of meeting or exceeding accessibility requirements.
Shortlisted presentations - date and venue TBC
The judges will take a range of factors into account; below are the key factors being looked for:
- Has there been a measurable or otherwise demonstrable benefit to passengers with accessibility needs?
- Will the initiative have a long-term effect on accessibility?
- Has the initiative resulted in an increase in the number of disabled passengers using the railway, in reduced assistance failures, or in improved feedback from disabled travellers?
- Is the initiative being picked up in other parts of the railway?
- Is there evidence of the initiative drawing directly on the diverse needs of disabled people (such as through accessibility panels, collaboration with disabled charities or advocacy groups, etc), and taking account of the diversity of those needs?
The period covered by each award is 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025.
Customer Service Excellence
This award recognizes top class service for customers of all suppliers of railway services, where an organisation shows flexibility, responsibility, and a clear focus on quality of delivery that sets a new standard to deliver customer satisfaction, and which sets ambitions for the future that the industry will follow.
It could acknowledge a particular creative solution, in any part of the railway supply chain, developed by an organisation or team that has vastly improved customer experience, including safety, during the course of the year.
Entries could include, for example, new and innovative ticketing systems, improved customer information, or a new initiative that improves the experience for passenger or freight customers or particular passenger groups, such as passengers with a disability or impaired mobility.
Who should enter?
Entries may come from train, metro and light rail operators, government (e.g. Transport for London, Transport Scotland or Nexus), customers or customer groups, or from other companies, including Network Rail, whose activities have a direct effect on customers.
Shortlisted presentations - date and venue TBC
Entries should demonstrate initiative, creativity and evidence of a new way of thinking in delivering first-class customer service.
Specific issues which the judges will consider include:
- Does the entry greatly improve the consistent delivery of customer experience?
- How did customers react?
- Would the idea be replicable across the rail network?
- Will the initiative influence the way customer service is delivered in the future?
- Is excellence in customer service embedded throughout the company?
- Entries should include quantified evidence in support of these factors.
The period covered by each award is 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025
Environmental Excellence
Rail has a vital role to play in decarbonising our economy and minimising our environmental impacts. With strong green credentials we are currently a low carbon choice, however with the race to net zero and an increase in extreme weather events we are losing our advantage. A commitment to long-term environmental sustainability should be considered as essential for all involved in the future of the railway.
To be considered for this category, a business must look beyond its immediate needs and show leadership in the way it protects the needs of the business, environment, society and future generations.
Who should enter?
Entries should come from any business within the railway sector Focused on a one or more of the following key environmental impact areas:
- Deliver a class leading environmentally sustainable railway, that has a clear path to zero carbon and continuous improvement in all its environmental impacts.
- Demonstrate significant level of ambition to lead industry in key area of environmental impact – such as decarbonisation, improving air quality, biodiversity gain or circular economy
- Initiatives that are innovative or delivered ambitious results in addressing railway environmental impacts e.g decarbonisation, climate emergency, air quality, biodiversity or circular economy.
- Use of innovative materials that could deliver significant improvements in using resources in the railway.
Shortlisted presentations - date and venue TBC
The judges will take a range of factors into account. However, the following are particularly relevant:
- Evidence of a measurable reduction / improvement
- Clear plan to deliver ambition, with demonstrable buy-in from organisational leadership and stakeholders, and specific investment plans and milestones
- Clear evidence of existing achievement and leadership as foundation to deliver ambition
- Will the initiative have a long-term effect by improving environmental impacts, or is there only a short-term impact?
- Is the initiative being picked up in other parts of the railway? Can it be adopted by others and how are you promoting it?
- Whether the approach is transferable and scalable across the railway and the transport system.
The period covered by each award is 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025.
Fleet Achievement of the Year
The purpose of this award is to highlight and reward excellence in train engineering and management covering the whole fleet in both the passenger and freight sectors. Past winners in the fleet category have come from fleet maintenance, from refurbishment/improvement projects, as well as the introduction of brand new trains or excellent fleet management. Entries should evidence positive customer reaction, with related safety, accessibilty and performance improvements.
Who should enter?
Entries can be submitted by anyone involved in keeping trains running or introducing new fleets, from manufacturers, operators, fleet managers, depots, and fleet owners including RoSCos.
Shortlisted presentations - date and venue TBC
The judges will be looking for clear evidence of true innovation and its positive impact on the running and effectiveness of the railways. They will consider the following:
- What logistical or engineering challenges had to be overcome?
- What customer benefits have been delivered and how will these be sustained?
- What customer satisfaction measures support the entry?
- Have technical and financial targets been met or exceeded?
- What is the impact on service reliability?
- What has been delivered in terms of safety and value for money?
- What new standards or innovations have been delivered for others to follow?
- Entries should include a clear quantification of all benefits claimed (business efficiency/effectiveness customer service/experience etc.).
The period covered by each award is 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025
Freight & Logistics Achievement of the Year
This award will recognise a major new contribution to rail freight or logistics involving use of rail.
Entries might relate to a specific rail freight or logistics initiative, to a combination of measures and initiatives that have enhanced the part that rail plays in supply chain and logistics activity, nationally or internationally, or to any achievement which is increasing the use of rail for freight purposes. So an entry could be an initiative that has had a major impact, a specific one-off project, a significant switch to rail from another mode or programme or set of projects or initiatives by individuals or companies that has improved the competitiveness of rail in the supply chain and has been reflected in business growth.
Who should enter?
Entries could come not only from rail freight operators and their suppliers, or businesses that make significant use of rail as part of their supply chain logistics and distribution networks, but also from rail passenger operators that have added logistics facilities to their service offering.
Shortlisted presentations - date and venue TBC
Judges will be looking for quantified evidence that the entry delivers at least one of the following:
- Measurable benefits for the sector’s end users, freight and logistics customers
- Improvements in rail infrastructure provision or in freight train operational equipment or practices that demonstrably enhance the rail freight sector’s performance in areas such as safety, customer service, environmental impact, efficiency or value for money
- Significant wider network benefits for other users of the transport system - for example, by allowing better use of railway capacity, or by removing significant volumes of lorry traffic from the roads.
The period covered by each award is 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025
Great Place to Work
We already celebrate outstanding contributions at the personal level with individual awards; here we are looking to find a great employer. This is vitally important territory at a time when the rail sector is seeking to respond to increasing challenges in both attracting a diverse and skilled workforce, retaining happy, healthy, motivated staff and demonstrating best practise in response to changing technologies and cultures.
Who should enter?
Entries will come from any rail sector business or authority — whether large or small – whether delivering services direct to customers or as part of the railway supply chain. All entries will be expected to set out relevant programmes and initiatives, with evidence of success in staff engagement and development, resulting staff satisfaction levels, improved customer satisfaction and other business performance outcomes.
Shortlisted presentations - date and venue TBC
The winning entry will be from an organisation (or part of an organisation) that has a clear vision, with effective and approachable leadership, and which recognises the need for change and which strongly and passionately supports the development of its whole workforce. It will also be able to explain how its commitment to the health, happiness, success and motivation of its employees, and creation of a more diverse and inclusive workforce, is leading to measurably higher performance levels, higher customer satisfaction and better business results.
Entries should be supported by evidence from staff surveys as available showing staff satisfaction levels. Other available metrics such as rates of sickness/absence, gender and diversity pay gap progression, industrial relations information, and staff churn rates should also be provided, as well as any other relevant leading indicators.
Judges will make their assessments – taking account of the organisation’s size and role – based on a range of factors including in particular:
- How the organisation’s leadership is having a beneficial impact on the development of the workforce
- How employment and business practices and culture and values are being implemented, and the difference this makes to the workforce and to customers in terms for example of trust and loyalty, supported by staff and customer feedback
- The extent to which staff attain high levels of competence and job satisfaction, empowerment and engagement, and of physical and mental well-being, with evidence of effective programmes covering all aspects of staff care and development from recruitment to retention, through leadership, talent management, training and skills development programmes
- Progress being made on encouraging greater diversity and inclusion and addressing any gender pay gap
- Whether the approaches adopted and lessons learned are transferable across the wider rail sector.
The period covered by each award is 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025
Infrastructure Achievement of the Year
This award covers all aspects of infrastructure asset management, including for example signalling and telecommunications, power supply and digital technologies as well as civil engineering. The entry could be a maintenance or renewal or enhancement project or programme, and could relate to any stage from design through to delivery.
Who should enter?
Entries can be submitted by clients, main designers or main contractors, but should identify all the major parties involved in the entry.
Shortlisted presentations - date and venue TBC
The judges will particularly consider the following factors:
- The benefit for railway operations
- Performance against planned schedules and budgets, and the safety record
- The complexity of the engineering involved, and in particular any conditions and circumstances that were unique to the entry
- The impact on existing railway services
- The extent of team working
- The reaction from the client, railway operators and railway users
- The entry should contain quantified evidence on these factors.
Please note: The financial size of an entry from large to small is no impediment to the judges' consideration.
The period covered by each award is 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025
Innovation of the Year
Innovation means finding new ways of doing the job or new technologies that will change the railway. It can involve radical changes in engineering or technology or to business process or to customer service. The scope can be large or small, and come from any part of the supply chain, so long as it delivers clear benefits.
All criteria MUST be met in order to be considered for shortlisting.
Who should enter?
Entries will come from the innovator (or team) or be nominated by the client company.
Shortlisted Presentations - date and venue TBC
The judges will be looking for clear evidence of true innovation and its positive impact on the running and effectiveness of the railways. They will consider the following criteria:
- Is the entry a real, radical innovation for the railway industry? Where does the innovation lie on the scale from with “a first ever anywhere in any business” at one extreme to “a first for the British railway” at the other?
- Is it really better, or just different?
- Has anyone noticed the difference?
- Has it improved safety, customer service or value for money? What other benefits has it delivered?
- Are others now copying the idea?
- Entries should include a clear quantification of all benefits claimed (business efficiency/effectiveness customer service/experience etc.).
- Entrants are encouraged to focus on the criteria listed above to maximise their chances of being shortlisted.
The period covered by each award is 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025
Major Project of the Year
Open to any major project, costing around £100m or more. (Smaller projects should normally be submitted to other categories which are relevant to their nature and focus.) It may involve trains, infrastructure, signalling, stations, improved customer facilities, new technology. But the project should be self-contained and be substantially complete, or have reached a significant and visible interim milestone, and must have changed and improved the railway for the benefit of users.
Who should enter?
Entries can be submitted by clients, main designers or main contractors, but should identify all the major parties involved in the entry.
Shortlisted presentations - date and venue TBC
The project should be delivering, or expected to deliver, significant quantifiable benefits to the wider economy and community, to railway operations and (most importantly) to passengers or freight customers, whether in terms of performance, customer service, efficiency, or other wider benefits.
Entries should in particular address the following issues, based on quantified evidence:
- Has the project met its original client brief? Were changes introduced during delivery to improve outcomes and if so how was this managed?
- What innovations were incorporated into the project which reduced costs, reduced timescales, improved sustainability outcomes or enhanced user benefits?
- What was the safety record of the project? How does this compare with best practice both in the rail industry and in other sectors?
- Was the project delivered on time and to budget?
- What quantified user benefits were expected and are these being delivered? What assurance can be given about future benefits?
- What lessons have been learned, and how are these being transferred to other projects?
The period covered by each award is 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025.
Outstanding Contribution to Society
Britain's Railway have a key role in contributing to the life of the nation - our passengers, freight customers, communities and our people. In this category we are seeking entries that strengthen rail’s economic and social impact, increase trust and demonstrate that the railway is an integral part of the communities it serves.
Who should enter?
Entries should consider any aspects of their business delivery that make a positive impact on social value and could include:
- Using business assets and operations in a way which makes a measurable positive impact on local communities: by improving connections and cohesion[IT1] ; enhancing safety, health and wellbeing; and supporting diversity and inclusion.
- Supporting local economic growth through support for local businesses and SMEs
- Greater emphasis on placemaking: using rail and its assets as a catalyst for regeneration and development that enhances the local environment.
- Deliver a consistent inclusive and accessible rail services to everyone; from customer service to design that is consistent, reliable and easy to engage with; thriving towards “all journeys accessible to all people”
- Increasing passenger and community confidence in using rail; safeguarding passengers, staff and the community, including vulnerable groups – on train, at and around the station
Shortlisted presentations - date and venue TBC
The judges will take a range of factors into account. However, the following are particularly relevant:
- The approach taken to engage with those impacted by the initiative / project including local community, charities, local business etc. and evidence of business and community buy-in (or other stakeholder impacted by the initiative/ project)
- Evidence for the positive impact made and the results achieved that have benefited the community, businesses, enhanced skills, wellbeing and diversity and / or delivered improved economic and social outcomes for the wider community and future generations.
- Evidence that the approach is transferable and contributes to long-term trust in the railway and strengthening rail economic and social impact.
- Clear plans to deliver ambition, with demonstrable buy-in from organisational leadership
- Clear evidence of staff commitment to deliver the organisation’s ambition
- All entrants should look to give firm evidence against at least 4 of the below:
- 1. Improving connections and cohesion between industry and society
- 2. Enhancing health, safety and wellbeing within the rail environs/safeguarding passengers, staff and communities
- 3. Supporting D&I/providing accessibility
- 4. Support for local businesses and SMEs
- 5. Catalyst for regeneration and development
- 6. Enhancing the environment/evidencing ESG
The period covered by each award is 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025
Outstanding Personal Contribution
People are at the heart of the railway. This award recognises railway men and women in any front-line role who have performed above and beyond the call of duty, to significant effect.
Who should enter?
Operational and maintenance managers and front-line staff at any level can be nominated. Nominations should be submitted by line managers, but the nominee must be told that they have been nominated, and why, and be shown a copy of the nomination.
Shortlisted presentations - date and venue TBC
Please note we are looking for a word count of around 800 words to be entered into this category.
Entries will need to show that the nominee has promoted a positive image for railways and made a significant difference for railway users. The judges will interview nominees. They will be looking in particular at the following:
- Was the nominee really just doing what is expected from their job? Have they gone above and beyond?
- What was the impact on customers, and who noticed the difference?
- Has a new standard been set for customer service or safety which others in the industry could follow?
This award is likely to be won by someone who has gone ‘above and beyond the call of duty’, and the award is equally relevant to all levels of staff.
Shortlisted nominess will be interviewed by the judging panel, and the manager making the nomination should attend the meeting to provide support.
The judges will separately make an award for a senior figure in the industry, for which no entries will be required.
Please be aware that being an Outstanding Personal Contribution finalists does not entitle you to a complimentary award ticket. These can be purchased via the booking system or through your company.
The Period covered by each award is 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025.
Outstanding Teamwork Award
The modern railway depends on excellent teamwork within and across companies and organisations. The winning entry will demonstrate top class teamwork which shows passion and creativity and delivers innovative ways of working that bring clear benefits to customers which can be extended to the railway as a whole. All criteria MUST be met in order to be considered for shortlisting.
Who should enter?
Entries can cover any railway-related activity during the year, and may be submitted by team members, team leaders, managers or customers. Teamwork, rather than just a group of individuals working together, will be the telling factor.
Shortlisted presentations - date and venue TBC
The judges will be looking at a range of factors including the following:
- The scale of the challenge the team has met
- How fresh thinking and changes in behaviour were generated, within and across organisational boundaries
- The composition of the team showing how its members have gone beyond normal business practice to deliver outstanding teamwork
- What lasting benefit the new approach offers for railway users
- How the initiative has improved safety and value for money
- The entries should give quantified evidence in support of these criteria.
The period covered by each award is 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025
Passenger Operator of the Year
This award covers all passenger operators - main line, urban, metro or light rail. It is designed to reward operators who, over the past year, set and achieved high standards of operation.
Who should enter?
Entries will come from operators.
Shortlisted presentations - date and venue TBC
The key criterion for this award is operational excellence that has had a demonstrably positive impact on the passenger.
Judges will be looking for quantifiable evidence of success in the following areas:
- Customer Service
- Punctuality and reliability
- Safety achievement
- Excellent communication with passengers
- Wider aspects of good customer service, including the management of disruption, overcoming historical problems and value for money
- Transferability across the railway.
- Evidence from delighted customers will have a strong influence on the judges’ decision.
- Entrants are strongly encouraged to focus on the above criteria in their entry to maximise their chances of success
The period covered by each award is 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025
Safety Achievement of the Year
Safety has always been high on public and political agendas - and rightly so. This award encompasses all aspects of safety, including the safety of staff, passengers and the public. Although a single action relating to an event could win the award, a successful entry is more likely to recognise a change that influences safety for years to come. It is not simply a question of resources, but about showing a really effective determination to run the safest possible railway.
Who should enter?
Entries may come from any team, company or organisation involved in the rail industry, including the supply chain, but all entries should show a tangible achievement in improving safety on the rail network. Merely implementing any new legislative or other requirement will not score highly, unless the entry illustrates a particularly imaginative way of meeting or exceeding the requirement.
Shortlisted presentations - date and venue TBC
The judges will take a range of factors into account. However, the following are particularly relevant:
- Has there been a measurable reduction in incidents or ‘precursor events’ or severity of effects? Or does the entry show that risk has been reduced by the initiative?
- Will the initiative have a long-term effect by improving safety, or is there only a short-term effect?
- Is the initiative being picked up in other parts of the railway? Can it be adopted by others and how are you promoting it?
- Entries should include evidence of the impact on safety, and explain why these improvements will be sustained in the longer term.
The period covered by each award is 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025
Station of the Year - Small, Medium, Large, Major
Stations were divided into four sections for judging – small, medium, large and major termini.
Nominations are invited for each category from Train Operating Companies, Network Rail and Community Rail Partnerships. The judges may also add their own nominations.
Who should enter?
You are encouraged to enter your best two stations for each of the Small, Medium and Large categories (the Major Termini are entered automatically every year). You can enter more stations if you wish, but please do check that your chosen stations will be in top form for a judging visit between April and June and are potentially award-winning stations. (Please note: Stations in poor physical condition, or stations where construction or restoration is clearly still work in progress and still under scaffolding for example, should not be entered)
There is no presentation required for this category - just send in the names of your chosen stations. We do however ask that a senior manager in your company signs off your final selection to avoid inappropriate entries and wasted effort on all sides.
All stations entered for these awards will be visited and judged against a common set of criteria including access, information, ticketing, customer-service, disabled access, presentation and special features (eg links to local communities; gardens, flowers etc). Particular emphasis will be placed on initiative and innovation.
The period covered by each award is 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025